Opinion: GOP Misfires on Filibuster

Columnist Kim Strassel on the gun control legislation that is likely to emerge from the Senate this week. Photo: Getty Images

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

... I ... Washington ... or are you floating the idea that they may use ... political stocks to prevent boats ... are many of these reforms ... think about that ... the the ... the same noble goal on ideas that almost all American support ... there is a ... bill ... to make and even prevent ... any books ... on these provisions ... there's a new opinion doesn't matter ... I ... that is not right ... welcome to Opinion Journal why Mary Kissel ... that was President Obama denouncing Republican plans the filibuster in any gun control legislation ... and my next guest is going to denounce the idea to ... just for differ reasons Potomac watch columnist Kim straw soul joins now from Washington can ... why would the GOP filibuster gun control legislation don't they want the Democrats to vote ... to show that the Democrats are divided on this issue ... we had exactly right and that's why it's it's denounce or are they end ... up until now all of the headlines and then about how the presence proposals are largely going down and then going down ... at the hands of his own party Senate Democrats don't want is for his assault weapons ban ... they don't want limits on magazines ... there even divided over what background check provisions they might come up with ... now in coming out and pre empt early saying that they could filibuster legislation ... all they do is allow the president to make that kind of speech that he was all ready to slap the legislation come to the floor ... the Democrats fight out played out and then you can really comes down to something like that the euro up a filibuster but to take in the matter in the target doesn't seem like the smartest politics so what are the Democrats actually want to do ... I he I do focus on non background checks anyone about ... privacy concerns ... while that isn't that the central aspect of this Mary which is that the presence proposals have now been watered down to almost nothing there that ... provision in there that will weigh that ... up to the penalty is um what's known as straw purchasing of guns is already illegal I there might be some grant money for schools ... the Democrats are still trying to decide about the background check in you have a number of senators from ... red states who are Democrats were very concerned about any provisions ... that might require an average Americans to have to undergo background checks or do background checks when they are going to engage in a private sale of a gun and keep records for that which is brought up a lot of fears about a national ... database and registry of gun owners ... it also seems to support managers ... may go against what the Supreme Court ruled about the second amendment in the Heller decision explain ... that's the one the more remarkable aspects of the presence ... proposals from me ... only recently the Supreme Court came out and clarify the second member of the first time ... that agreeing that you do have an individual right to own firearms actually quite probably ... on leaving the door open for broad definition of what their four counts of illegal firearm ... what you're seeing the presence proposals and also some of these new Gundam didn't pass by states ... in the last few months ... is that the actual total pushback of the Supreme Court that ... and and and ignoring what that actual decision was a constitutional merited it's very difficult to believe ... that the president's proposal for a quota love ban on assault weapons could actually pass constitutional muster ... can we can debate on Iraq and page about the mental health aspects here ... terms of preventing mass killings likely starter or we saw at New town ... um has that discussion just been completely sidelined on Capitol Hill ... yet some of the greatest games of this debate is that so much attention has been sucked out that he would expect and what on this question of limiting firearms ... I've that we had stepped aside from what there was actually some agreement on which is that you need to do something about mental how ... the problem of course Mary is that it be hopping today because the kids in the federal privacy laws ... the kids and all kinds of questions about privacy rights and people's ... mental health status whether dovish the bar from guns ... machetes Congress doesn't necessarily want to take up those issues and the complicated so that has been moving ... much more slowly this season discussion of a in the house but by and large it depends on its website ... Congress doesn't wanna take on tough issues and neither does the president surprise surprise ... in some of my calmness came straw soul ... thank so much for joining ...